Checking your 'trust thermometer' | Opinion | hccommunityjournal.com

Mar 17, 2025

If we were to look at your “trust thermometer,” how would it read? Would it show that you are a peaceful, trusting person or an anxious and shaken person?

Who can you trust these days? Life is full of trials and hardships, and all of us are just one phone call from being on our knees.

The days we live in are full of bombings, the threat of diseases, change in our government and inflation. It is imperative that we have someone to depend on, and the only one I can think of for that job is Jesus.

I will never forget the day I got the phone call from the neurologist concerning my mother. My mom’s processing and ability to do normal tasks had rapidly faded away, and there were no answers. Finally, some tests were ordered -MRI of the brain and other tests -and as I stood in my parent’s kitchen, the phone rang.

I answered it, “Jones residence, this is Kathleen.”

“Kathleen, we have the results of your mom’s tests,” the doctor stated.

I quickly grabbed the brown paper bag that was near and a pen, so I could write the results down.

“The damage to her brain is irreversible,” the doctor continued.

I wrote the words down, but simply could not comprehend what I was hearing.

“What do you mean irreversible?” I asked in disbelief and hoping I had the wrong definition of irreversible.

The doctor continued to explain that unless there was a miracle, my mom would not get better in her ability to do normal tasks, as the area of her brain that processes information had been permanently damaged. Mother was only 65 at the time and had been so full of life before she got sick with the rare disease.

Suddenly, my world shook as I tried to absorb the news.

At that moment, I had to make a decision. What would I do? I had too much on my plate to panic, and I knew anxiety was not my friend. I remembered Proverbs 3:5, which says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your path.”

As I began to trust God with what I could not understand, He was faithful to direct me and lead me in the days ahead.

Trust is the firm belief in the ability and strength of someone or something. God is the only one I know that I can really trust. I have lots of great friends, but God is the one constant friend who is always there.

Col. 1:17 (NIV) says, “He is before all things and in Him all things hold together.”

I wish I would have read this passage years ago to hang on to, but now I know it is true. I saw the hand of God hold things together when I did not have a clue how I would balance taking care of both of my parents, work, be a mother to my children and wife to my husband. Step by step, God walked me through that time of uncertainty and trial and held all things together for me.

The phone call from the doctor was 21 years ago and was the soil God used to grow peace and trusting in God in my life.

It was imperative that when anxious thoughts came, and all the questions I did not have answers for yet, that I pushed those thoughts away and focused on God’s ability and love for me. I had to literally speak out loud, “God, I trust you, and I will walk in peace,” as I needed to hear those words.

David in the Bible spoke similar words when he was in crisis. Psalms 56:3-4 (NIV) states, “When I am afraid, I put my trust in You. In God, whose word I praise-in God I trust and am not afraid.”

Where do you put your trust?

Psalms 62:1-2 (NIV) tells us where we can find rest for our souls in times of difficulty and who we can depend on. It says, “My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress, I will never be shaken.

God always provides what we need, it is just up to us to access the provision and use it.

Whatever you are going through — marriage difficulty, financial trouble, letting go and starting a new life, loss of a job, family conflict — God is trustworthy and wants you to take his hand and walk with you. There is purpose in your trial, and raising your ability to trust reaps a wonderful crop of peace.

You have a God-given right to walk in peace and then give to others.

—-

Kathleen Maxwell-Rambie is a podcaster, author, writer, speaker and Hill Country native. Contact her via e-mail at [email protected]. Find her book, “Thriving Through Seasons of Grief,” or listen to her podcast on her website at www.kathleenmaxwellrambie.com.

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